You asked for it, and you got it, folks. This week’s episode covers Shurtleff v. City of Boston, aka the second-most interesting thing that happened in the Supreme Court two weeks ago. There’s a lot to disagree with here, from the decision that flags aren’t government speech, to Gorsuch’s take-down of the Lemon test. Law starts at (02:07).
On this week’s podcast, Brett interviews Gabe Roth from Fix the Court about judicial ethics and recusal reform for the Supreme Court. Gabe discusses the scope of Fix the Court’s reform in light of current events, what is like to testify before Congress, and the future of any such reform at the legislative level. Nazim returns from captivity next week.
The emergency podcast alarm has rarely sounded so definitely, as Brett and Nazim discuss the fall-out from Alito’s leaked opinion in Dobbs, including what a draft opinion means for the outcome of the case, what a leak means for the credibility of the Supreme Court, and whether this decision will likely be the majority decision. Law starts from the jump.
This week’s case discusses Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, in which the Court must determine whether a public school football coach who prays on the field violates the Establishment Clause. This case is ripe with factual issues, legal issues, and sadly very little discussion about actual football. Law starts at (02:35).
This week’s episode covers the age-old battle of LAWS v. CONSTITUTION. The first case is U.S. v. Vaello-Madero, in which the Supreme Court held that denying Puerto Rican residents SSI benefits did not violate Equal Protection. The second case is City of Austin v. Reagan National Advertising of Austin, in which the Supreme Court tied the First Amendment in knots trying to resolve sign problems. Law starts at (02:04).
This week’s episode covers Concepcion v. U.S., which continues the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the First Step Act, a bi-partisan law aimed at lowering sentencings for drug dealers, but maybe wasn’t drafted super well. Law starts at (04:10).
This week’s episode starts with a discussion on Justice Jackson’s appointment to the Supreme Court (starts from the beginning), and moves to a discussion about Shurtleff v. City of Boston (17:26), which asks whether a government policy which allows citizen’s flags can exclude a religious flag under the First Amendment.
This week’s supersized episode covers the Senate Confirmation hearings of Ketanji Brown Jackson, while also covering Clarence Thomas, Ramirez v. Collier, and Wisconsin Legislature v. Wisconsin Election Commission. The law starts from the beginning and is mostly consistent except for a conversation about parenting, reality shows, and Encanto in the third act. The podcast is also taking next week off, but will return on April 10, 2022.
This week’s episode covers two brief Supreme Court orders with big political ramifications for the future. Moore v. Harper (N.C.) and Toth v. Chapment (PA) are two State Supreme Court decisions where the Court decided the political maps instead of the legislature. This is discussed through the fact that Brett saw Harry Potter for the first time and now wants to talk about it twenty years after its release. Law starts at (09:45) but your house gets 10 points if you listen all the way through!
Check out this episode!
Boston Marathon Bomber & the Less-Famous Abortion Decision
Posted: March 13, 2022 by Nazim in Episode!This week’s episode covers recent decisions in U.S. v. Tsarnaev (reinstating the death penalty for the Boston Marathon Bomber) and Cameron v. EMW Women’s Surgical Center (allowing AG to intervene in abortion case when everyone else gave up). It’s all killer, no filler because the law starts at (1:33).
The Citizen's Guide to the Supreme Court 